Though most agree the Freshman 15 is just a myth, many college students gain weight their first year.
Erik Fiffik, a former National Guardsman who attended Texas Tech University in the fall of 2015, was one of those freshman. Fiffik gained six pounds in his first week at Texas Tech while living on campus. As a result he failed a physical, seriously hurting his chance at a competitive ROTC scholarship.
The Hub@TTU’s Justin Rex followed Fiffik, documenting his experience at Texas Tech in the following photo essay.
Fiffik, whose experience is not unlike other students’ trying to eat healthy while living on campus, said he did not change his eating or exercise habits during the time he experienced weight gain.
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- Erik Fiffik was a transfer student from Plano living on campus studying advertising at Texas Tech University. He was also a member of the Texas National Guard and part of Texas Tech’s ROTC program.
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- Fiffik struggled to eat heathy on campus and gained six pounds during his first week on campus. As a result he failed a physical, significantly lowering his chance at a competitive ROTC scholarship.
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- The Market is the dinning hall attached to Murdough, the dorm Fiffik lived in. It serves a large number of students each day and lunch is its busiest time.
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- Dining halls offer students the healthiest choices for meals on campus. In the evening, though, when Fiffik was at the dorm, the options for healthy meals are reduced due to slower traffic.
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- According to Hospitality Services, food lines are closed at managers’ discretion. Hospitality is also working with a reduced staff because they can’t hire enough students. As a consequence, the food lines requiring more man power to run are the first to close.
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- Hospitality Services is working to solve its labor issue and says they are happy to help students that want to eat healthier on campus. Hospitality also offers diet counseling and cooking workshops for students.
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- Fiffik worked out more often with more intensity than he did prior to moving to Texas Tech.
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- To help compensate for the lack of healthy food available to him later in the day, Fiffik cooked eggs in his ramen to give his body the protein it needed to recover from his workouts.
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- Fiffik prepared most of his meals in his room, opting to spend money at grocery stores and eat more nutritious meals than eat the foods available to him in the dining halls.
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- Fiffik’s focus was to continue to lose the weight he gained, continue to find ways to be healthier on campus and increase his fitness to be more competitive for his ROTC scholarship again in the future. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough.
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- After being enrolled at Texas Tech for one semester, Fiffik moved back to the Dallas area for school because he could not afford to continue at Texas Tech.
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